"Do You Shave The Night Before Or First Thing In The Morning?"

A close shave sketch!

 Good "shave and a haircut" Monday morning, all bodies.

I knew the Eagles game would be a rout, but the Bengals/Chiefs was a win by "the hair of my "chinny-chin, chin!". it's always fun to be the Monday morning quarterback analyzing the game with friends. Sometimes though, there's a lull in the conversation and when there is, it is always fun to change topics.

Knowing that my fastidious friend always arrives at Giddy Up clean shaven with a perfect part of hair on the left side of his head, I had to ask him if he didn't mind me asking some personal questions. He said he didn't mind...

"I don't know what it is, but lately, I find that I have to shave my face every other day," I said.

"Do you shave the night before or first thing in the morning, 'cuz you always look so clean shaven?"

Eric mumbled something about the morning time.

"Well, if that's so, you must get up and at 'em pretty early," I said.

"I don't know," I continued. "Maybe, it is because the hair on my face isn't red anymore and isn't as easy to hide. My beard is kinda whitish now and stands out too much, nowadays!"

"I don't know, he said. Your face looks clean shaven to me, now!"

"Yeh, but two days ago... just two days ago, I look like a bum without a razor," I replied.

"Let me ask ya," I said. You wear glasses like me, do you shave with them on or off?"

Before he could answer, I said, "Cuz whenever I shave without my glasses on, I always miss a spot or two!

"But when I do wear my glasses, I can't see anyway because the glasses always fog up!"

Eric cracks up laughing as he agrees with me.

"Yes, they do have a tendency to fog up, but not that much because I wear spectacles instead of full blown glasses like you wear," he said.

"So, I said, you don't miss any spots, right?"

"I remember seeing, when I was a kid, old guys' faces and seeing spots of beard that they missed. I figured that it was rather rude to point that out, so I didn't."

"I try not to, Ben," he said.

"Yeh, I said. Looks good to me. You must use regular or facial soap like I do to soften up your beard some.. Like Dove soap!"

"Just sayin'."..

"No, I used regular shaving cream from a can," he replied, kinda hoping we'd get back to the subject of football.

"I don't use them anymore, I replied, because those foamy creams don't always protect the skin and I find that I always miss a spot when I use them, and...

"And, ya just know when I do, some little peach fuzzed punk will tell me, I'm sure.

Goes around, comes around...

First cup!

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

"GOOD Thursday Morning, Y'all"...

Startin' the day off right!

 GOOD Thursday Morning, y'all.

Mornin’, MORNin, mmmmmorning, Morn, mornin’man, Mornin' Dude... Morn-ninnnnnnnnnng!

Lately, just about every Tuesday Morning, big white construction style trucks and vans are parked at GiddyUp. Sauntering inside with little to say until they get their first cup, the guys are wearing outdoor work clothes and shoes. Some in jeans, some in camo, most sporting a thermal vest of some kind, and head gear.

Skull caps seem to be the order of the day. One guy wore his baseball cap backwards, Ken Griffey style.

As the gang sat down and slowly awoke with each new sip, everyone became a bit more verbal. A distant truck beeped, to anyone that cared, that it was backing up. The sound disturbed a Smokey Robinson Motown vibe playing on Pandora. It was The Temps singing, "The Way You Do The Things You Do.”

The early morning irony was a bit too much to handle without a first cup... So, I got one!

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

"My Tastebuds Are Still Stuck In Frankfurt!"

A decorative or grub?

 Good "still soggy" Sunday Morning, y'all.

Over at Giddy Up watching the rain turn to a mist on what I think looks like cabbage. So, I went on my "Picture This" plant app to see if indeed this is the kind of cabbage one eats for good luck.

With a click of the iPhone, it turns out that it is. It is a kale and a member of the brassica family and can be eaten in many different ways including sauerkraut which goes great with hot dogs, brats and a host of other sausages that we are not supposed to enjoy in great quantities... Yum!

My tastebuds are still stuck in Frankfort!

While Tee is at church, I guess I'll get another cup and sketch this Killer Cabbage!

Second cup, y'all.

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

"RIP"...

 Good "RIP" Thursday Morning, all bodies.

How silly of me to think Jeff Beck would always be around.

For about a year or more, just a block and a half behind the coffeehouse, was a white igloo shaped dog house. It housed a medium sized, scruffy black dog which seldom roamed further than the dog house.

Being tethered to a fifty or sixty foot cable didn't help.

I rarely saw the owner who drove a dark blue SUV and lived in a mobile home along side three or four other mobile homes. The dog could always be seen in his igloo content, it seemed, to watch the people and cars go by.

On occasion, he would sit at the end to cable to catch some rays. I noticed when it was inclemate weather, the cable the dog was tethered to could be tracked all the way back under the house. But most times, it appeared he preferred his doggie abode even in the rain.

I always wanted to get out of the car and walk on over just to see what his reaction would be, but I never did... and I wish I would have. In the last two months, all that is left of his presence is his igloo, his water bowl and a cable that now `goes nowhere.

There was something rather reassuring about seeing his presence every day casually at his station, on guard. It's only natural to wonder about his whereabouts. What happened? Where did he go? Did have an accident or was shipped back to the dog pound?

It's funny how something so seemingly insignificant can become such a part of one's daily routine and is now sorely missed.

First cup!

Copyright 2023/ Ben Bensen III

"How Smart Is Your Light Bulb?"

Behold... A light!

 I walked into the local Home Depot the other day to find a seated man with a 36 inch yardstick swinging it and asking if we need any assistance with our central air and heating home system.

I casually waved him off to head right down the aisle to where the replacement light bulbs were. I mustah seemed a bit dazed and confused at all of the selection of outdoor yard lights and, most especially, the prices. 

So, the salesman, behind the central air and heating desk gets up and saunters my way.

"Can I help you," he said adjusting his black baseball cap with Vietnam Vet proudly displayed.

"Yeh, what's up with all of these "smart exterior" lighting systems?, I asked.

"Do you own a smart home or a smart device?

"I'm just looking for replacing burned out bulbs in my back yard!"

"Oh, he says, do you own an Alexa or any other "smart device" that can automatically turn on or off on your command!"

"No, I said, I just flip the switch on or off... Ya know, analog like!"

He laughs.

"So, Mr. Vietnam Vet, can you enlighten me as to where I need to go to simply purchase two outdoor lights?

"Sure," he says, as he takes me to the place where far down the aisle and down below on the two lower shelves there exists the "old school" bulbs.

"You want 60, 90, or 120 watts?"

"Well, I'm not interested in lighting that's powerful enough to disturb any animals in their midnight rendezvous, ya know?

"Okay, okay, sir, let's go with 120." The prices seem reasonable," I said.

I took two boxes and thank the salesman and laughingly said... 

A smart home, eh. At there prices, I'm glad I still live in a dumb home!

 Copyright 2023/ Ben Bensen III